[Overview]
<p>At first glance, Duosion seems like a rather underwhelming Pokemon, even for RU, due to its somewhat lackluster base stats and weak defensive typing. However, despite these factors, Duosion is undeniably an extremely threatening Pokemon. Eviolite grants it a huge amount of bulk, Magic Guard offers it an immunity to all of the hazards and other forms of passive damage, and it has a massive base Special Attack stat. Thanks to these factors, along with its solid offensive coverage and decent support options, it has the ability to be an effective Pokemon in RU.</p>
[SET]
name: Calm Mind
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Recover
move 3: Psychic / Psyshock
move 4: Hidden Power Fighting
item: Eviolite
ability: Magic Guard
nature: Bold
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Although it lacks the excellent typing and Speed that some of the other Calm Mind sweepers in RU possess, Duosion can pull of an effective Calm Mind set and should not be taken lightly. Having reliable recovery, near perfect coverage in two moves, and most importantly, Magic Guard, Duosion is a significant threat in the RU metagame. Reliable recovery and Magic Guard are especially important because they're really all Duosion has over other Calm Mind users such as Musharna. However, those two things are easily enough to distinguish it from its competitors.</p>
<p>Calm Mind is naturally the crux of this set, boosting Duosion's already massive Special Attack stat sky high while also increasing its respectable Special Defense stat. Recover pairs beautifully with Calm Mind, letting Duosion sponge special attacks easily after a boost while taking advantage of its solid Defense stat, and making Duosion ridiculously difficult to beat in general. Either Psyshock or Psychic should be used in the third slot, each having its own advantages and disadvantages. Psychic is usually the better option, hitting most Pokemon in RU far harder than Psyshock, but using Psyshock allows Duosion to beat Cryogonal and win Calm Mind wars. Finally, Hidden Power Fighting rounds off the moveset, hitting Dark-types that commonly switch in on Duosion, and providing it with a solid neutral coverage when used in tandem with Psychic.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Duosion should use max HP and Defense, mainly because its Special Defense is already being boosted by Calm Mind, and it needs the Defense in order to take hits from strong physical attackers such as Entei and Krookodile. However, more offensive EV spreads with max HP and Special Attack are also viable, and give Duosion much more of a punch. Similarly, Eviolite is the best item available to Duosion when using this moveset, since the extra bulk is extremely helpful when setting up. However, if more offense is necessary, a Life Orb is another option, although it's not as effective.</p>
<p>Duosion hugely appreciates teammates who are capable of removing hazers, pseudo hazers, and strong physical attackers. Thus, Pokemon such as Rhydon and Aggron usually pair decently well with Duosion. In addition, it appreciates having support from Pokemon who resist Dark-type moves, or can set up on a Pokemon Choice-locked into Pursuit. Usually, bulky Fighting- and Steel-type Pokemon fit those criteria nicely, and thus Pokemon such as Poliwrath, Hitmonchan, and Klinklang make good partners for Duosion.</p>
<p>Finally, Duosion hugely appreciates entry hazard support. Its astounding bulk and ability to cause switches let it abuse entry hazards to their full potential. In addition, most of the Pokemon that Duosion has to worry about, such as Krookodile, Entei, and Honchkrow, all dislike having to deal with entry hazards, and are much easier to wear down with them up.</p>
[SET]
name: Offensive Trick Room
move 1: Trick Room
move 2: Psychic
move 3: Shadow Ball
move 4: Hidden Power Fighting
item: Life Orb / Eviolite
ability: Magic Guard
nature: Quiet
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA
IVs: 0 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Duosion can easily pull off an offensive Trick Room set similar to the one that its older brother, Reuniclus, uses in OU. With this set, Duosion can clean up teams late game with ease, thanks to its high base Special Attack stat and access to perfect type coverage between Psychic, Hidden Power Fighting, and Shadow Ball. Magic Guard, along with Duosion's passable defenses, also play a part in this moveset, letting Duosion easily switch in against and threaten almost all offensive teams, while also letting it blow holes in most common stall cores.</p>
<p>Trick Room is naturally the crux of the set; with its solid defenses, Duosion can switch in on a number of threats and then proceed to set it up. After that, Duosion can abuse its ridiculously low Speed to outspeed nearly the entire metagame under Trick Room. Psychic is Duosion's main STAB move, and hits many common Pokemon in RU for decent amounts of damage. Shadow Ball hits opposing Psychic-types, while Hidden Power Fighting rounds off the moveset by giving Duosion perfect neutral type coverage and most importantly, allowing it to hit all of the Dark-types that would otherwise give it trouble.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The choice between using a Life Orb or using Eviolite is a difficult one, as Duosion can use both effectively. Life Orb lets it hit significantly harder, netting some notable 2HKOs, such as an assured 2HKO on bulky Moltres and the chance to 2HKO Bulk Up Gallade. When using Eviolite, Duosion loses those KOs, but in exchange, gains significantly more bulk, allowing it to more easily set up Trick Room, especially against more offensively oriented teams, which Life Orb Duosion struggles to set up Trick Room against.</p>
<p>Offensive Trick Room Duosion hugely appreciates entry hazard support, particularly Spikes and Stealth Rock, as they allow it to net some notable KOs, such as an assured 2HKO on Gallade when using Life Orb and a 2HKO on Musharna, even when using Eviolite. There are many decent options for laying entry hazards, but some of the best partners for Duosion are Omastar and Qwilfish, who can switch into many of the Pokemon that directly threaten it, and Scolipede, who can get hazards up early in the game with ease.</p>
<p>Finally, Duosion pairs very well with Pokemon that can set up on the Dark- and Bug-type attacks directed towards Duosion. This includes bulky Fighting- and Steel-type Pokemon such as Aggron and Poliwrath. They also have the ability to beat some of Duosion's best checks, such as Honchkrow and Krookodile, and are good at punching large holes in teams early game that Duosion can later exploit.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Duosion possesses an excellent support movepool, consisting of a variety of solid options such as Thunder Wave, Trick, Toxic, dual screens, and Rain Dance. However, Duosion doesn't particularly abuse any of them very well; Uxie is usually better for general support thanks to having access to Stealth Rock and U-turn anyway. Also, in order to effectively use dual screens or Rain Dance, Duosion can't use Eviolite, which significantly decreases its bulk. Duosion can use Trick on some gimmicky sets with Flame Orb, but Clefable can pull Trick Orb sets off better.</p>
<p>Duosion's offensive movepool is pretty sparse, consisting of the bare minimum of STAB moves and Hidden Power. However, it does have access to Flash Cannon and Energy Ball, but they don't provide any important type coverage that isn't already covered between Hidden Power Fighting and Shadow Ball. Duosion also has access to some physical moves, such as Explosion and Gyro Ball, although it can't hurt anything with them due to its base 40 Attack.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Thanks to Duosion's high Special Attack and massive bulk, it can be difficult to switch in on. However, most Dark-types, such as Sharpedo, Krookodile, Crawdunt, and Zweilous, are capable of picking off weakened Duosion without too much trouble. Drapion and Skuntank are especially effective in countering Duosion, as unlike other Dark-types, they don't have to worry about being hit hard by Hidden Power Fighting. Strong physical attackers that aren't hit super effectively by Psychic or Duosion's common coverage moves also make good answers to it, since they can switch in and power through Duosion without too much trouble. Similarly, if it hasn't boosted its Special Defense, most powerful special attackers, such as Moltres and Porygon-Z, can break through it.</p>
<p>Duosion has to be wary of Pokemon with Trick and Knock Off as well, as no matter what moveset it's using, it gets a significant amount of use out of its item. Calm Mind Duosion without Eviolite and Offensive Trick Room Duosion without Life Orb are both much less threatening than they would be with their items. Pokemon with Knock Off include Gligar and Tangrowth, while common Pokemon with Trick include Porygon-Z and Rotom.</p>
[Dream World]
<p>Duosion receives Regenerator via the Dream World, but it's not very useful since residual damage, such as entry hazards and Toxic, piles up quickly against a Duosion without Magic Guard.</p>
